Farmington Club Hockey Team | Farmington Flyer

By Emily Herrick, Staff Writer

The Farmington Club Hockey Team (Courtesy of Michael Keim).

The players on the Farmington club hockey team are ready to lace up their skates and continue through a season of many more fights, goals, and wins. The team consists of 18 players and they play a total of 15 games a season, including playoffs.
I oversee and [am] responsible for conducting the affairs of the organization. I represent our team in the Central Maine Collegiate Conference [CMCC],” said Michael Keim, president of the Farmington club hockey team. “Most of these games are played at the Sukee Arena in Winslow, Maine. Some of the teams they play include Maine Maritime Academy, Husson, and Thomas, among others.
This hockey club considers themselves to be much like a family, “We sure do act like brothers. Everyone has each other’s backs no matter if you hate someone or not. You feel very safe playing for a hockey team, no matter where it is. Everyone supports each other’s plays and decisions. If you get hit, there will be a teammate there in seconds to have your back,” said Brandon Clark, a member of the Farmington Club Hockey Team.
Being physical often comes with the territory in hockey. “We can hit, punch, elbow, spear, trip, slash, the list goes on and on with what we can do to the other team. When it comes to [the] physical aspect of the game you can [do] just about anything. However, there are penalties for hitting someone incorrectly or dangerously that puts a player’s safety in jeopardy. If you fight, [however], you are automatically kicked out of the game,” said Keim.
The coach is typically the backbone of a sports team. Both Keim and Clark had good things to say about their coach. “The coach of the Farmington hockey team is my father, Scott Keim. He is known by a lot of names on the team and on campus as Coach Keim and Poppa Keim,” said Keim.
“Our coach is the best! Technically we do not need a coach, but he fits the time into his schedule and helps us out a lot. He buys all of our water bottles and pucks. He spends gas money and drives over an hour each way to support us. The team and I couldn’t ask for anything better!” said Clark.
While there is only one girl on the hockey team, the club supports her just like the others, “When a girl is on our team we consider them the sister we never had. We watch her back, acting as the protective big brother making sure no one messes with her,” said Keim.
The biggest support system that the team has is their fans. “They are great and so supportive to us it’s unbelievable. All of the games are late [at night] and they still find ways to go and support their team,” said Clark.
“Our fans are very loyal to our team. They travel to all of our games no matter the day or time. The fans [are] extremely energetic, passionate, motivational, sassy, and antagonize the other team. Our team couldn’t ask for any better fans,” said Keim.
A reason the fans get so into the games is because of the fights. “Hockey fights are intense. People think that it is a joke, but the fact of the matter is that they boost the momentum in the game. Yes, people do get hurt sometimes, but you have to do what you have to do no matter who or what standard you are on the team,” said Clark.
The Farmington club hockey team announces all of their games on Facebook and most of their games are typically played after 9:00 p.m.